They Said Likewise That Neither The
Portuguese Nor Spaniards Could Abide Us, But Always Spoke To The Great
Defamation And Dishonour Of England.
They also affirmed that on the
arrival of a ship called the Command, belonging to Richard Kelley of
Dartmouth,
One Pedro Gonzalves, a Portuguese, who came in that ship from
Don Antonio, reported to them that we were fled from England, and had
come to rob and commit great spoil on the coast, and that Thomas Dassel
had murdered Francisco de Acosta since we left England, who was coming
in our ship with great presents for their king from Don Antonio,
desiring on our arrival that they should seize our goods and ourselves
secretly. They assured us however that they had refused to do this, as
they disbelieved the report of Gonzalves, having often before been
abused and deceived by such false and slanderous stories by the
Portuguese. Their king, they said, was extremely sorry for the former
murder of our people, and would never consent to any such thing in
future, holding the Portuguese and Spaniards in utter abhorrence ever
since, and having a much better opinion of us and our nation than these
our enemies wished them to entertain. I gave them hearty thanks for
their good opinion, assuring them that they should always find a great
difference between our honour, and the dishonourable words and actions
of our enemies, and then paid them the customary duties. As this was a
chief place for trade, I told them that I intended to wait upon their
king that I might give him certain presents which I had brought out of
England, on purpose to strengthen the friendship between their nation
and ours.
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